Baked Onion Rings

I’ve always been a fan of onion rings, but deep-frying them at home is not necessarily a good option. Even with an exhaust fan that evacuates to the outside, it still smells up the house and can be a mess to clean up, even with a covered deep fryer.

So, baked, breaded rings are the next best thing. They’re reasonably easy to make, and they do taste good. One thing of note: make sure to use twice as much spice as you think you’d need to ensure you get the level of flavor you want.

What you’ll need:

• Big onions (one or two, depending on size)
• 2 jumbo or 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 or 2T milk
• Enough flour to coat the rings
• *Enough panko or breadcrumbs to coat the rings (about 3 cups panko or 1.5 cups fine breadcrumbs)
• Whatever powdered spices you like, ex. salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper
• Cooking spray
• *I used fine breadcrumbs, but after making these, I think that panko would be MUCH better. Next time!

What to do:

Heat your oven to 450 degrees.

Slice the onions nice and thick (about a half-inch or more), and separate the rings, reserving the ones you don’t use for another recipe.

Whip the eggs and milk, then transfer to a shallow bowl. Put the panko in a separate shallow dish or bowl.

Put the onion slices and flour into a larger sealed bag with your spices and shake (with the bag sealed) until the onions are completely coated with flour.

Using tongs, dip some of the rings into the egg/milk mixture and completely coat them. Then move the rings to the panko/breadcrumbs and gently shake the container until the rings are coated.

Put the coated rings on a baking pan then spray with the cooking spray, but don’t douse them.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until the breading is slightly browned and the onions are tender.